I hope you’ll share your experiences in dealing with this question — just leave a comment on this post, and I’ll include it in my post on the topic. The deadline for sharing your ideas will be September 15th.

In this piece, I’ll be sharing lots of great ideas that readers shared when I put a call out for people to share their first day plans. First, though, I thought I’d share what I typically do (though it might change as I consider “stealing” some of the ideas people left), along with some other additional resources.

This is the latest in my series of What Do You Do? posts about issues teachers face in the classroom.

Here is what I typically do on the first day of one of my classes (this plan I’ll be sharing here is for my “double-block” mainstream ninth-grade English class):

First, I greet students at the door and refer them to a seating chart that is displayed on the overhead projector (at first, I make seating assignments just to ensure ethnic and gender diversity). On each desk is a simple questionnaire, which I ask them to start working on as soon as they sit down.

When the bell rings, I ask students to stop working on the questionnaire for a moment and to give me their attention. Once I have it, I welcome them to the class, explain that this is a college prep class, and by the end of the year they’ll be able to read anything. I go on to say that I have a specific system about how we do work in the class, but the key rules to keep in mind are:

* When I say “Can I have your attention?” that means I need everybody to stop what they’re doing and look at me. I like to do a lot of small group work, and the more I feel I can get your attention when I need to, the more small group work we’ll do.

* Be respectful — to each other, to me, to my stuff, and other student’s stuff.

* We start class three minutes before the bell rings, so please be here on time. I’m excited to be your teacher, and I hope you’ll want to be here in this class. I’ll be sad if you’re not here.

* Eating can be a distraction, so I ask that you not eat food in the room. You’re more than welcome, though, to come here during lunchtime to eat. As long as I don’t see it or hear it, I usually don’t notice if people are chewing gum.

I keep that to a very short time.

Next I have students quickly introduce themselves to a person they’re sitting next to — their name, what school they went to the previous year, what they like to do for fun, where they live, and if they have any brothers or sisters (those questions are posted in front). After doing that for three minutes, I have them do it again with a different student near them.

I then quickly review a short syllabus that students need to bring home to have their parents sign.

I then quickly review my classroom management system, and emphasize that I hope to stop using it within a few weeks, if not sooner, as students show me that they are the responsible students that I expect them to be.

Then, students can go back to working on their questionnaire, making a simple “nameplate” that they can put on their desk for the first few days to help me remember names, and write their name on a piece of paper they tape on a binder where they will be keeping their papers during the year. I reuse the binders each year. During this time I circulate and began to have short conversations with students about what I see they’re writing down on their questionnaire.

After about fifteen minutes, I pass out “Book Pass” sheets, which is an idea I learned about from Janet Allen. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the file with the sheet I use, but it’s quite simple — one column for the titles of books, the next column for the name of the author, and the third column is where students rank them — 1 means they are not interested in the book at all; 2 for being “sort of” interested; and 3 for being definitely interested.

Prior to class, I have developed a stack of about one hundred of the most popular books in my classroom library. The idea behind the Book Pass is that each student gets some books, looks them over for a minute or so, records and ranks them, and then passes them to the next person. After everyone has gone through all the books, they decide which one they want to check-out.

Prior to the distribution of books, we have a discussion about what you look at when you have a minute to review a book.

Usually in the middle of the book pass, the bell rings for a break. When they return, the book pass continues for another twenty minutes or so and students pick their books. Again, I’m circulating to see who is ranking which books high and low, and having brief conversations.

We make a schedule for introductions beginning the day-after-the-next-day,and then students use the remaining classtime to work on their introduction posters. I take that time to continue having brief conversations. My goal is to have a short individual conversation with each student about their interests by the end of the first day.

So that’s what I do.

In addition to the wealth of ideas I’ll be sharing from readers, here are a few other resources about the first day of school you might want to explore:

I try to do something that shows the skills of a historian along with the kids finding out about me and me finding our about them. In the past I have brought in artifacts from my life, had them take notes with their own conclusions and then write a poem about who they think their teacher is.

I teach to several age groups so I will let you know what I have done for each age group. All these classes are at the beginner to intermediate level of English proficiency.

Children- I wear a big smile and say Hello and introduce myself in English and in their language. Then it is straight to game playing!

High School- I wear a big smile, say Hello, introduce myself, and give them a one page syllabus with their first homework assignment to email me with whatever they want to say for a free 100. I also collect index cards with their personal information. I have each student share some information of themselves with the class such as name, country they are from, and their hobbies. With more advanced classes, I do this as a pair interview where the partner introduces the student. I give my speech that everyone starts off with a 100 and clean slate in my class. We also learn vocabulary about the school and do a tour with each student acting as a tour guide the second time around.

Adults- I wear a big smile, say Hello, introduce myself, and start with this question game. One student is in the hot seat and the others must each ask the student one question beginning with the Wh question word I wrote on the board. This activity has been very successful in breaking the ice!

hcmurdoch

In my high school world history class I go over the syllabus and do all the typical first day stuff, then we start right in on the history! I have a handout on which students guess when and where common objects (toothbrush, bra, spas, sun glasses, etc) were first used. We talk about their guesses and why they made the choices they did. The next day they each get a post it with the answer to one of the objects on it, get in a chronological circle and go around sharing the right information. I tell little stories about each object. The information is from the book The Origins of Everyday Things by Charles Panati.

On the first day of school, students read letters from last year’s 4th graders about “How to Survive in Mrs. Hines” class. That’s always a lot of fun and loosens things up. We also review classroom expectations and rules, as well as setting up a basic calendar of things to expect. This year we will be starting on our overall yearly theme of “Healthy Living” with a lifestyle pre-assessment.

Briana Bancroft

I like the paper bag ice breaker. Before school starts I send out a letter asking the kids to bring in 3-4 items (small) that are important to them in a brown paper lunch bag (unmarked) and when they get to class on the first day of school I collect them. Then when they are gone to a special I pass out the bags in random order and have the students unpack them when they get back. They are allowed to walk around the room and look at the different things and then they have to try to guess who belongs to each bag. I have each student stand to show what is on their desk, make their guess as to who they think it belongs to, and then the person who brought them in will explain why they chose those particular things to bring in and show. With elementary students it is like a giant show-and-tell and then I don’t have to do it anymore for the rest of the year!

sanmccarron

This is a demonstration I do on one of the first few days of school. I get a local fast food joint burger (actually, I buy 5 because I have 5 classes). Before I reveal it, I have the students define what a quality burger is (it has meat, bun, pickle…etc.) Then I set it on my demo table and unwrap it. I ask if it is a quality burger. Then I smash it with a rubber mallet. While I am smashing it I am talking about the paper that is due the next day and how it is grabbed from the printer minutes before running out the door and slammed into the backpack and other books smashed on top of it.

Then I ask if it is still a quality burger. It has all the same parts. But it is a mess. And I expect to see tidy papers turned in.

The first day of school is always hurried. Our classes are about 30 minutes each following a homeroom (with students that I will not have in class) period of 60 minutes where we hand out schedules. I always greet students at the door, check their names off the roll sheet and assign them a desk. Once the bell rings, I double-check that all students are present, then repeat their names again asking if there is another name they wish to use in class (i.e. nickname, middle name, etc.). I also stress the importance of them correcting my pronunciation if necessary. We review the syllabus and go over the recommended supply list. If it’s an AP class, I collect the summer assignment. At that point, I usually have time for a quick activity/demonstration. One of my favorites is to show them an overhead of a world map that has been cut into four pieces. The first view is centered on the Atlantic Ocean (which they are used to seeing), but then you move one of the pieces to the other side of the map to create a different view. We talk a little about our perceptions of what the world looks like and how sometimes we just need a different view to understand things better. If I had a full class period I’d add in a mental map of the world. It’s great to watch students’ maps progress over the course of the year.

Terri Harton

I spend time not only on the first day, but the first few weeks community building in the classroom. Taking the time to build community in the classroom from the very first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. Norms naturally emerge and relationships form that allow for productive cooperative learning. The students take complete ownership of the classroom, their own behavior, and their classmates’ behavior.

I also assign lunch groups and a topic of discussion. The groups sit together at lunch and report back the next day in class. Topics range from finding 3 unique things the group has in common to something that helps them to reflect on a previous day. We have 5 feeder schools that filter into our middle school and for sixth graders the lunch groups help to settle the anxiety that naturally emerges in regard to that time of the day. I only assign lunch groups for the first two weeks of school, but the students tend to continue sitting with each other throughout the year.

Mona

If it’s a new group, I of course want to know their names and a little bit about them. However, I know I don’t like boring introductions, so I’m guessing they don’t either. That’s why during the first meeting I sometimes ask “different” questions, like: “Do you have a nickname?”, “What book is on top of your shelf?”, “Who would you invite to an imaginary party?”, “What are you most proud of?” etc. These unconventional questions get them to open up and it’s always a fun class, especially since I too answer the same questions. Also, this type of getting-to-know-each-other exercise sets the ground for a good collaboration.

With groups with which I plan on using technology, I’d probably adapt the questions and ask stuff like “When was the last time you read a book/webpage?”, “When was the last time you received a letter/an email?”, “When was the last time you browsed an encyclopedia/wikipedia?”.

Heather Mason

I teach 8th grade Language Arts. By the time they get to me, they know most of the rules, so I go over them QUICKLY and pass out a supply list. Then I take any “I must know or I’ll die” questions, but I put off all the class info stuff until the next day (when all of the other teacher aren’t doing it).

We write the first day, usually a fun assignment and never a graded assignment. Last year they wrote an essay entitled, “What I Did This Summer” but the weren’t allowed to tell the truth. The crazier the better. They they shared with a partner and a few shared with the whole class.

This year, I think we will write a poem using the mini-whiteboards I have. Each student will write a word that describes school, then I will video the word while they say it and post the video to my website. If there’s time, we will do the activity again, this time with a word describing what they wish school was.

I want kids to know right off the bat that this class isn’t about listening or being quiet and following directions (although those are important skills), it’s about doing.

cthumphreys

Last year I taught 3rd grade, and I wanted the focus of my first day (and many after that) to be the cultivation of community. I showed pictures on the Smartboard of my husband, our dog, and from a trip I had taken to Argentina that summer. I let them ask lots of questions (they especially wanted to know all about the trip to Argentina because I had worked with kids their age). The purpose of this was to let them know that I wanted them to know me– to really know me, and this helped set the tone for the rest of the year. I shared my life with them, and they shared theirs with me.

We then played a game called “Connections.” I used a big piece of butcher paper and wrote all our names around the paper at the edges. Everyone sat behind their name with a marker, and we started the game with one student sharing something about himself. If a student found a connection with what he said, he drew a line connecting their names. They also wrote what connected them on the line. At the end, when the paper was a barely legible mess of lines and words, we drew conclusions about what this game taught us.

Dave

I teach fifth graders and have been doing this activity successfully for the past 29 years. After everyone is seated, I ask the students to look around the room to find THE most valuable item. I tell them it is not in a drawer or a closet, and that they can walk around and look if they want. After a few minutes I ask for what they believe is the most valuable object. Computers and stereo and ipod and TV and Smartboard are often mentioned. Sometimes it’s the artwork or books. I recognize that it IS valuable, but not THE most valuable. Eventually someone mentions the students and I concur… but add that it’s not only the students, but any person in the classroom, and I will not allow any damage to occur to the most valuable item(s) in the classroom. We refer to this lesson throughout the year as the first lesson they were taught in fifth grade. They don’t forget.

Marie

I am going back into the classroom after 10 years out so my main aim for the 1st day is to survive!!
I have a questionaire to hand out to the children. Although I already know them I hope this will give me more of an insight into each of them and make it easier to tailor my lessons for this class. It will also make it a bit easier to connect with each of them during the year. I will also spend time community building where we will discuss our expectations and how we all feel the classroom should be run (rules, consequences etc)

I introduce myself and tell the students a little about me and my background, hobbies, and interests. Then I have each student introduce themselves and tell about their hobbies, interests, or something interesting about themselves. I then talk briefly about the class and what we will be doing and what they can expect. They get a copy of the syllabus on their way out.

I teach high school physics, so I have grades 11 and 12.

I hand out the textbooks and go over class policies and procedures on the second day.

Earlier this month, I wrote an article titled Teaching Secrets: How to Use Leftover Class Time Wisely that was published by Teacher Magazine. It appeared a week ago as part of a series coordinated by the Teacher Leaders Network. That functions as a sort of “Part One” on this topic. In order to view the whole article, you have to register for the Education Week site. It’s free, though, and only takes less than a minute. You’ll see where it says “Free Registration” just below the beginning portion of the article that you can see.

Please share how you handle your first day of class each year. You can leave a comment at my original call for contributions (the experiences that have already been shared are great, and you can see them there). The “deadline” for comments will be August 15th.

Now, back to the primary topic of this post — What Do You Do When You Have A Few Minutes Left In Class?

I’d like to give a framework for this post by quoting what I wrote in the Teacher Magazine article:

I teach Geography, so the last 5-10 minutes of class time is always well spent reviewing maps. We grab atlases and compete to see who can find a random country the fastest. The first one with their finger on the country and their hand in the air wins. It’s easy and requires no advanced preparation, but has long-lasting results.

R. Turneron

I teach 3 subjects, but this doesn’t matter because they all need the review. I like to review the day’s topic with real-world applications. When I taught Area the application was painting. If you want to paint the classroom three colors what are the colors and a close approximation of the amount paint you would need? Some are still trying to figure out the amount of paint!

1. Vocabulary Review – students go back through their books- previous units or through my conversation control sheets and look for highlighted words and make example sentences.

2. Vocabulary Review – students take two words from their lessons today and tell me how they anticipate activating these new words in English conversations during the coming week.

3. Feedback – how are we doing? What have we learned so far/ in the lesson today / how can we apply this knowledge to our real lives?

Amyon

I love to play the Princeton Review Vocabulary Minute for my students. There are always 4-5 words that go with the theme of the song. Whether it is a greek/latin/french root, or a list of synonyms, the students like to sing along and try to remember the words and meanings at the end (for a small treat, usually… cap eraser or m&m). Sometimes, for the really good ones that we play over and over, I’ll catch the kids singing them on their own, or even asking me to play them.

I teach 3rd grade math, so on days when we have a few minutes left (rare), we play little math games that don’t require cards, pieces, or any kind of equipment. “Math around the World,” or a “Multiplication Bee” or something like that. The kids enjoy it because it’s a game, and it helps to drill their basic facts.

Paula Mc

As a third grade teacher teaching South Carolina History and ELA I use the last 5 min. for a review of South Carolina Facts. Each week my students have 10 SC social studies facts that they have to know by Friday. So each day I review. I also take that time to read to my student.

I teach classes of over 30 teens and usually assign some homework, so if I finish everything I’d planned before the bell goes off, I usually encourage them to start working on their homework so that they don’t need to go about it at home. If they have tests on other subjects after my lesson, they usually request permission to use that time for reviewing, and I let them. While they do whatever they’ve chosen to do, I walk around and try and start some casual conversation with those of them I haven’t had much chance to interact during the lesson, especially if they seem not to be using their time in any fruitful way… it’s just light-hearted chat on any topic of their interest, not on the point of the lesson!

Reminds me of 2 years ago when I was teaching biology.. In last few minutes, I ask my student about their activities in campus or home…also about their boy/girlfriend.. I make a last minutes as relax as possible cause I want to also be their friend..

4) REFLECT:

Taking time to think about what students are learning actually “means” to them and their lives is a good way to spend a few minutes, too.

Edna

One of the thinking routines from Project Zero http://tinyurl.com/dgr79f (highly recommended reading !)
eg Connect Extend Challenge. How does today’s learning connect to what you already knew? How did it extend your thinking further? What challenges/questions do you still have?

5) INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGE:

Using short mysteries or “lateral thinking” puzzles was also mentioned (as well as a number of other ways to stimulate students’ minds). Here are two good sources for lateral thinking puzzles:

I have a book of 5 minute mysteries. We read aloud and students use their inductive and deductive reasoning skills to try to solve the mystery.
I also have all of the review games that I’ve developed over the year for our interactive whiteboard. They are always readily on hand to open up and use to go back over previous units of study.
There are also some fun vanity license plates to decipher here (http://www-chaos.umd.edu/misc/). The kids love the challenge!

Lianne:

I play critical thinking games or read out brain teasers. I also have a student submitted (pre read) joke/riddle box.

The kids love it when we get out the Brain Quest, or Trivial Pursuit Cards. Another good time filler we do is math facts around the world style.

P.ALES

I can always capture their interest with a SCIENCE DEMO of the DAY (related to the topic presented). Occasionally with 5-10 minutes left we close our books and brainstorm new vocabulary or even play a quick game of vocabulary challenge. Whatever I choose it keeps them going to the very end.

Here’s a teacher with a lot of options that cross all categories, but I’m putting all her ideas here:

Barb

I teach fifth grade. Here are some of the things I do when I have five minutes of class time:

1) Pick sticks (random selection) for one minute speeches for table points. Some of the topics include such things as, tell all the uses you can think of for chewing gum. They aren’t allowed to say what the topic is, the class has to guess. Another might be, convince the class that you would be a good president. I have over 100 topics on laminated papers prepared, so they never have the same topic in a year.

2) Spelling sparkle to review spelling words.

3)Watch a segment from http://www.thefutureschannel.com (all clips are five minutes or less) professionals showing their job and relating how math and science help them in their profession. (Free)

4) Watch a clip from Brainpop.com. My school purchased a membership for me, but you can have a trial with an email account for one week without purchasing. Excellent learning tool.

6) TECHNOLOGICALLY ENGAGE:

Technology can be a useful tool — inside the classroom or in the computer lab. Some specific resources for these area can be found in these lists:

For Online Learning Games That Can Be Played Or Created Quickly please go to my “The Best” list and look under “Games” or look at these:

Here are some other ways teachers use technology during “leftover” time:

deyenbergon:

If I’m working with computers I get the students to “post” a highlight, lesson learned, or question on http://www.wallwisher.com/ In the classroom I love bubble basic facts practice on the Smartboard, throwing the koush(that’s definitely spelled wrong) at the circles to reveal the fact, and then the answer.

We work on a quick Renaissance program called Math Facts in a Flash to practice math facts on computer. I read aloud math brainteasers and make up my own. I challenge students to come up with long “incredible Equations” for the number of the school day-How many days have we been in school? I read aloud from whatever read aloud chapter book we have going at the moment. Or since I teach second grade all boys, we may take a one minute organize your desk or locker break.

7) “CHILL”

Just giving students a few minutes of free time to chat is something I do very occasionally, and others do, too.

Hadass

I teach high school, so if it is only 5-10 minutes, I let them chill. Everybody needs some downtime, and many schools have eliminated breaks during the morning and afternoon.

But it doesn’t just have to be a few minutes to chat — singing is another alternative..

I teach 7th grade go and most of students get done at varying times, so on most days I send them to my free time page. It has tons of quasi education fun stuff for them to do. It keeps the fast workers occupied and allows the slower ones time to finish up.

I have a few things I might do if I have some extra time at the end of a class. My favorite is to read to them. Even seventh graders love to hear a story. On Friday, while we were waiting for the parents to arrive for our field trip, I started reading “The Phantom Tollbooth” to them. Within thirty seconds of starting, you could hear a pin drop in my classroom!

Of course, the fact that it’s so much fun for me to read out loud and do the voices and put on a little performance, has absolutely nothing to do with it.

As a first grade teacher I’ve always got a book or two ready to read. Other options include various ways to practice math facts, playing spelling sparkle, or telling a story that we each add on one by one.

Thanks to everybody who contributed! And feel free to leave more ideas in the comment section of this post…

As regular readers know, I’ve been writing a monthly “What Do You Do” posts focusing on specific classroom issues.

Next week, Teacher Magazine will be publishing my article on “What Do You Do When You Have A Few Minutes Left In Class?” and a few days later I’ll be following that up with an extensive “Part Two” on the same topic. You can see many comments left by readers in my original post.

In my Teacher Magazine article titled The Last Day Of Class, I share that one of the things I do is tell my students about the negative effects a complete summer absence from reading can have on their academic life. I explain that I’ve arranged for them to get extra credit from their tenth-grade English teacher for reading, and let them check-out books from my extensive classroom library.

Earlier this month, I wrote an article titled The Last Day Of Class, which appeared in Teacher Magazine two weeks ago. That functions as a sort of “Part One” on this topic. In order to view the whole article, you have to register for the Education Week site. It’s free, though, and only takes less than a minute. You’ll see where it says “Free Registration” just below the beginning portion of the article that you can see.

I’d strongly encourage readers to check-out that piece, where I share a few of the ideas shared by readers of this blog in a previous post. I also share some of my own and frame them in a bit of a community organizing context.

In this “Part Two” post, I’d like to more completely share reader suggestions and also include some links to good teacher evaluation forms that you might want to consider adapting for your own use. In addition to “Celebrating and Appreciating,” I also recommend in the article that teachers consider “Evaluating and Agitating” (I’m now adding “Reflecting” to that list).

On the last day of school we tear down the remnants of an 8′ x 8′ wall map of Florida that we spent the entire year constructing (we use most of the content in making a year-end book). Then, we have an awards show. Students receive the Presidential Student Service Award for having more than 50 hours of community service during the year (this year’s class has over 100 per student). The finale is an individual award for each student where I have one last opportunity to roast and celebrate them before sending them off to 5th grade. We wash that down with cake and a round of boo-hoo’s.

I teach at a very small school. We have 6 staff members and around 40 students. For the last few years we have gone to a local park and had a picnic to wrap up the year. Students enjoy bringing desserts and salads. My husband usually ends up grilling the burgers. Many of my students have children of their own and they bring them. We always have a great time!

Although it depends on what activities have been planned for the whole school, I like to have kids act out plays (some they’ve written during the year, some they’ve just enjoyed in the past). They love either acting, or watching others act, and this uses up all that pent up last-day energy.

Amanda Wu:

I teach EFL college courses in Taiwan.

I try to always find a way to celebrate learning on the last day of class.

For example, in my writing classes, students read aloud selections from their favorite pieces in their portfolios. In my business English classes, students have a mock full class role-play that covers the content from the semester. In my public speaking classes we have two whole class debates.

In all situations, I find ways to give certificates or awards as well . . . most improved writer, more interesting essay, most inviting introductions, and so on. If the class is small, I find a way to give an award to every one; if the class is larger, I only award those who earned them.

On the last day, we’ll be playing Scattergories, with categories related to our content from this year. It’s a fun way to end but still ties in to some sort of actual learning. But mostly it’s just fun.

In the comments section at the Teacher Magazine article, Nancy Flanagan shared this plan:

In the last few years, the outgoing 8th graders have done a fun, raucous pops concert (I teach music) for the whole school first hour, pulling teachers out of the bleachers to be a guest conductor or vocal soloist, involving the cheerleaders, flag corps, spring season athletes, drama club skits, etc.. The musicians really are the stars, but so many kids get recognized (who weren’t part of Honors Night) that it feels pretty democratic. We begin with “America the Beautiful” (which is cool again, thanks to Ray Charles) and end with the school song and play lots of high-energy stuff of the “Louie, Louie” caliber.

EVALUATING, AGITATING, & REFLECTING:

One of the things I have students do is anonymously evaluate the class and my teaching.

Other teachers also use the day as an opportunity to invite students to evaluate.

C. Wehde:

As a high school English teacher, I always had the students “grade” me on the last day of school. Their “assignment” was to tell me what they liked most in the class and what could be improved. In addition, I asked them to rate the literature we read in the class and projects we completed: what would they recommend I use again in the future and what to cut. They had the option of leaving their names off of the evaluation if they chose to do so. Most did not and were pretty honest about their experiences in the class. It was one more way to find a way for them to write the last day of school and I really appreciated their feedback.

I teach college. I sometimes use the last class of the term as office hours, when students can submit outstanding work, ask questions about any final assignments due after the last day, or come pick stuff up.

However, I sometimes use the last class as a sort of free-form seminar. I ask students to write down a question, any question, about anything they’d like to know about English language, English literature, being a teacher, being a writer, the class… Then I put them all in a hat, and draw as many as I have time to answer, soliciting their input. Sometimes I have them do a little writing assignment for the last half hour, tying together some of the things we’ve discussed – one topic I use for this is “Why is it important/not important to study English literature in college?” Their answers often surprise me.

I also generally have students write letters to future students entering the class. Other teachers do the same:

Andria D’Errico:

I teach technology at a grade school. I have 2 projects I’ve done in different years. One is to write a letter to a child who will come in to that grade telling them what that grade will be like. I give them some guidelines, like your 3 favorite things, what you need to know about the teacher, something that will be a challenge. The teacher can use that at meet the teacher day, or the first day of school.

The 2nd project I’ve done is “3 Words”. Students pick 3 words to tell upcoming students about the grade. For example: Do Your Homework, Mrs. Smith Rocks, Tell the Truth. You can take a picture of the student with their words, and make it into a book or a slide show.

My Second Book On Student Motivation!

My Second Book On Teaching ELLs

My book, "The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels," (co-authored by Katie Hull Sypnieski) was published in the Summer of 2012